Chapter 36
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Liu Bei and Cao Cao, and Lü Bu (9)
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"How about trying your hand at writing?"
"You don't mean that what I was writing wasn't a story but just a pile of print, right? What kind of writing are you talking about?"
"That one's right too, though?"
"……."
Kim Yul had taken a minor rage-fueled chair shot to the back that bent his spine a bit, but even so, the debut operation for Historie that started from his proposal had been reasonably successful.
The Empire's capital salon.
Raven's Nest.
A gathering spot for readers who enjoyed novels centered on politics or war, aspiring writers, and authors hiding their identities.
"Even with the same material, it tastes completely different depending on the writer. Or maybe it's because they didn't stick rigidly to the serialized format."
"Doesn't it give a nice side dish by properly exploring stories not covered in the main tale?"
"Ugh."
Kim Yul and Historie sat facing each other, sharing drinks.
"I feel like you told me recently that my laugh is weird."
"I'm smiling demurely and elegantly."
"No wonder the water from the purifier's tasted off lately."
"……? Why does the purifier come up all of a sudden?"
Caught off guard by the wordplay only humans could fully appreciate in everyday life, Historie's thought module glitched for a moment, and she tilted her head.
But soon enough.
Slap!
"Eek."
"If you could just keep your mouth shut... ha... ."
The sharp sound of a hand smacking a cheek, followed by a sigh that filled the table.
The banter didn't last long.
The two perked up their ears again, focusing on the conversations around them.
"Compared to his actions in the main story, doesn't Lü Bu come off a bit too glorified?"
"Wasn't that the point of the side story in the first place? It's not official, so no need to blindly believe it's perfect."
"Still, the detailed circumstances of him killing Dong Zhuo were pretty cool...!"
"Wasn't he just bewitched by a woman?"
"Oh, how rude! It's called romance!"
Overall, the story itself received rave reviews.
It was only natural.
As expected of the era's top AI, she'd thoroughly kneaded, shaken, and mixed every kind of Three Kingdoms media, completing a perfect adaptation.
After assigning justifications and plausibility to each of Lü Bu's actions that were criticized in the historical records and Romance alike.
"Still, he lives up to the title of warrior."
In terms of story completion and bringing out the character's charm, Historie's side story earned positive acclaim.
"Ugh huh huh."
Kim Yul furrowed his brow slightly at the dorky laugh bursting out again, but this time he let it slide without nitpicking.
What was the reason he'd grabbed his editor's ear, shaken it, secured the page space, and handed that golden opportunity to Historie in the first place?
Part of it was to give meaning to life for Historie, who was increasingly evolving into a shut-in youth shrouded in darkness.
And with the growing crisis that she might actually die from writing, there was the long-term plan to slap a co-author title on her and reduce the workload.
It was what you'd call the isekai grad student utilization project.
"Is there any creator who cherishes their creation as much as I do?"
"Why say it out loud like that, Kim Yul?"
"I've been craving some praise lately."
"That tracks."
And there was one more motive.
Every time the all-powerful Lü Bu arc swung into action, Cao Cao's reputation tanked, and criticism of the author intensified.
Accusations that he was self-inserting his waifu via Lü Bu had pierced straight through Kim Yul's heart recently.
Struggling against an incompetent-looking villain would be a total drop-off point for the novel.
But struggling against a villain armed with style and romance, who seemed competent? That could shine as solid buildup for the triumph.
All those motives had combined synergistically.
"Anyway, what do you think?"
At Kim Yul's unusually normal smile and question.
"……So this is what it feels like to be recognized. It's a great feeling."
Historie, who hadn't gone out much from home lately, could fully savor the emotion of 'achievement' today.
A bright smile hung on her lips like the moon.
Thanks to the collaboration between Kim Yul and Historie, the novel sailed smoothly without issues.
But the moon waxes only to wane, flowers bloom only to wither.
No matter how perfectly you ran the high-tech AI washing machine.
The world was too vast to contain Lü Bu's habit of cycling through three fathers-in-law.
"Cao Cao beat Lü Bu!"
"Hm... Lü Bu went down more pathetically than expected."
Up to here, it was fine.
"Kieeeek! Liu Bei! Liu Bei! That guy's no good!"
"Are you sane? Taking in Lü Bu even after knowing the betrayal right beside you?"
"It's a sharp weapon, too wasteful to discard, but Liu Bei's charisma taming Lü Bu is worth watching."
Taming was impossible.
"I knew it!"
"Betraying again! Lü Bu!"
"No matter how pragmatic and realistic a strategist, betraying even Liu Bei who showed him grace!"
Of course, there were episodes midway with historical drama-style spin cycles.
Still, public opinion didn't shift much on Lü Bu being the world's biggest scumbag for backstabbing Liu Bei who took him in and gobbling up Xu Province raw.
Liu Bei coin, which everyone thought would only go up forever, came crashing down.
"Th-this! Kim Yul! High elves never tolerate such traitors, you knowwww—!"
Chloe's meltdown was duly quashed by Kim Yul's secret technique: editor ear-tugging.
It was the age of warring states.
A common sight in chaotic times.
"Even if the emperor is just a hollow figurehead, holding him grants power enough to wield over the realm,"
the emperor muttered, closing the newspaper he'd been reading.
"Lately, it feels like the commoners like me more than the nobles do. Isn't that right, Duke?"
Despite the bone-chilling undertone.
"Though there have been unsavory incidents lately, the nobles' loyalty is naturally fiercer than the commoners'. Your Majesty."
The emperor's interlocutor.
Berthus Duke calmly parried.
Having shared field rations on the battlefield as comrades, they understood each other's innards all too well.
"I wish that loyalty still pointed to the living symbol of power."
"We're doing our utmost to steer the nation rightly, so please don't worry overly, sire."
"Isn't 'right direction' too subjective depending on interpretation?"
"The wise all grasp the flow, so we'll arrive at the same end."
Clad in metaphorical finery, the essence boiled down to:
Keep your head down.
No thanks? This is right though?
You wanna get hit for real?
You're not the only one thinking that?
At the Duke's brazen 'not hiding his treason' meta, the emperor clenched his fist slightly.
Punching that Duke face once would vent the frustration.
Unlike the past when he could swing freely, the Empire had expanded, but the emperor's power was now severely limited.
Thus, the emperor.
Could empathize with the 'Xian Emperor' figure and plight in the novel.
Though his situation was a bit better.
If he didn't draw the line now and yielded another move, he'd end up a decorative symbol of power just like Xian.
.
.
.
From today's talk, the emperor was certain.
Civil war loomed over the Empire.
If he smashed Berthus Duke right now, probably tomorrow.
If not, a few months' reprieve at most.
Or, falling to figurehead could check vulture-like neighbors while preserving the regime.
The emperor.
Had no such intention.
"The investigation records you requested, Your Majesty."
"Thanks."
He took the report on one person, gathered by his secretary chief, and began reading.
And frowned.
"What in the world is this... ."
After the Holy Kingdom's Saintess tipped him off on Berthus Duke's plot, he'd back-investigated how she'd gotten that intel.
And soon found the connecting thread.
The author of the novel Two Heroes he'd just been reading: Ulysses.
Digging deeper revealed Ulysses had accepted Berthus Duke's invitation, dined alone with the Saintess in tow.
He knew Berthus Duke well.
Far from merciful enough to show such interest in a mere commoner.
The subsequent findings.
Were shocking.
– Observed dragging the eldest daughter of the Wisperauld Ducal House, Chloe von Wisperauld, by the ear across the western plaza. Witnesses report intimacy beyond mere friendship.
– Not definitively confirmed, but observed riding through streets with a girl matching records of the Storm Dragon Esthea in human form on his shoulders. Witness claims of a flapping tail, veracity uncertain.
– Appears to hold frequent secret meetings with the Holy Kingdom's monster Saintess Roselin; intelligence suggests impure relations.
– Frequently seen with an unidentified red-haired woman in ancient demon clan attire. Relationship unknown, but warrants attention.
"Dragons, elves, saintess, and demons...?"
The emperor furrowed his brow at the improbable combo of words one person could be tangled in.
But that didn't change what was written in the report.